Inventors have long sought to provide a system of associated devices for effectively monitoring the condition of a diaper, other undergarment, bedding or the like. While the present invention provides an elimination-absorber monitoring system useful in each of these environments, a preferred embodiment is utilized in conjunction with a disposable diaper. Thus, for purposes of brevity in the present specification, the term "diaper" shall indicate any of the above-described use environments, except where otherwise specifically stated or apparent from context.
The art is replete with examples of prior attempts to satisfy the need for an elimination-absorber monitoring system. Each has, for one reason or another, apparently failed to achieve significant implementation and consumer acceptance. Upon review, the prior systems appear either impractical, unsuitable to the use environment, unworkable and/or uneconomical--largely for one or more of the following reasons: failure to provide an appropriate sensor response or alarm criteria with respect to urine-soiling; inability to detect fecal matter, or to provide an appropriate sensor response or alarm criteria with respect to feces-soiling; lack of important user-oriented features; and unsuitability to cost-effective manufacturing.